The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora and referred to by the cultivar name Hot Salsa.
The new cultivar is a product of a mutation induction breeding program conducted by the inventor in Fort Myers, Fla., and Salinas, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new garden-type Chrysanthemum cultivars having with desirable inflorescence form and color and good garden performance.
The new cultivar originated by exposing unrooted cuttings of the Chrysanthemum cultivar Empire Salsa (disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,578) to X-ray radiation at a level of 2,000 rads in February, 1994. Following the radiation treatment, the cuttings were rooted and terminal apices were removed (pinched) three times to promote lateral branch development. After lateral branches from the third pinch reached sufficient size, terminal cuttings were harvested, planted and flowered in a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif. The cultivar Hot Salsa was discovered and selected by the inventor as a single flowering plant within this population in May, 1995. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable ray floret color.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif., has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.